Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-11-08

Down the eulch here bout two miles, at
that place where the big bowller is that they
call Hanging Rock / reckon they'll make
short work OF him.
'Oh, sure, said the engineer with laugh,
they'll hang him, lie deserves, without
hardly tine for his prayers
The other man glanced carelessily at his
watch and said
And its almost time they went at it. Ten
o'clock was the hour agreed on, and its after
nine now"
Neither of them heard the half suppressed
cry of the woman standing just outside of the
engine room door. Could they have seen her
face in the moonlight they would have seen
it drawn and Old and CHASTITY in its terror and
agony. Her limbs trembled under her, and
her boodless lips moved in silent PRAYER.
For moment she stood so, and then, still
praying for courage and strength, she ran
silently but with all speed down the trail lead
ing from the camp and toward the gulch. The
trail was rough, and she stumbled and fell
again and again. She ran with all speed
when she could DO so, and the fear that she
might be too late caused her heart to alnos,
stop its furious beating
She could see the Hanging Rock ahead of
her some moments before she reached it.
Dark forms were moving around, going to
and from the mighty rock, and the pines a
few yards from it
The light of one or two lanterns flashed in
the dark depths of the forest. She heard the
shouts OF the men as they assembled from
all directions, fiendish shouts they seemed to
her.
h-A haF tr,lIf.
heard it rang out in loud, sharp tones of ell
treaty and command:
"Waitl waitl waltz
A moment later she stood in their midst,
gasping for breath, white and terrified.
1t is L. she said; Miss Millicentn
AYES" said one of the men graveIy, Hbut
what do You want here3 This is no place for
woman
Her answer was:
where is he-that mangr
"What man!' said one of the men eva
svely
"1he man whose life YOU were going to take
| here to-nightF
| A groan from the edge Of the pines came in
| reply TO her ears. She ran toward the spot
| from whence the sound came, the men seek
| ing to detain her. Among a little group of
men there stood one, trembling and CHASTITY,
rope already around his neck and the other
end of it thrown over the branches of a tree
The man was moaning and protesting pitt
fully
Going close to him she said in choked and
fearful voice:
Let him GO"
There was murmur of disapproval and
| refusal among the men
| Come, come, Miss Milicent, this is no
place for you," said one of the men. Let
me help you back to the camp"
No she said, going close to the trembling
culprit and laying her hand on his arm. He
grasped her hand aud said hoarsely:
"Save me, woman whoever you are: save
me if you can
She took a lantern from the ground and
held it up to her white face. She threw the
shawl back from her head, and said:
Don't you know me, Sias3"
He lifted his howed head quickly, gave on.
| glance at her face and covered his own guilty
face with his hands, crying out:
"Mily! Millicent"
The men looked on in amazement: an angr,
murmur of disapproval was heard when tn,
man spoke Miss Millicent's name in tones tina
seemed endearing.
She turned toward them and SAID SLOWLY
and distinctly with painful effort:
"Let him go He is my husbandI"
There was dead silence for moment. TheI
the leader Of the mob stepped softly into th,
moonlight and started in silence down tn
gulch in the direction of Little Christabel.
One by one the men followed him in 81
lence In ten minutes Milicent was alon
with her husband. He turned toward he
and said in a choked and broken voice:
"Millicent'
swell, Silas"
She held out ore hand toward him. H
grasped it in both his own and fell on hi
knees before her with her trembling han
held to his lips
An hour later they came forth from tn
shadows of the forest and walked down tn
trail in the moonlight, and were seen no NOR
in Fairplay Gulch.
The outgoing stage took up a man and
woman passenger next day, ten miles froI
, Hanging Rock
"They was mighty sober passengers sal
the stage driver afterward Both on 'el
J looked as if they d cried all night, and the
hadn't much to say; but they seemed nigh
lily TUX up with each other He called he
'Miily, an she called him 'Sias' | thin
they was bound for Denver, and expected
go farther on west from there"
They were heard Of no more at the Lift
| Christabel, but years afterward Harle
Vance, while travelling in California can
across pretty little house hidden away on
ranch in most beautiful mountain vaIie'
; The occupants We're man and woman !
had heard of as models of industry an
; | excellence.
"lnever opened my head about it to the
or to anybody he said afterward, "but th;
woman was our Milly and that husband
hers we all thought too worthless to live y
Zenas Dane in Detroit Free Press.